Going Dairy Free with your Little One

We went 100% dairy free with our son right after his 1st birthday. Up until that point we had dabbled (we used goat’s milk formula once I stopped breastfeeding at 7mths) but I was still using some dairy in foods. It was just so easy to put cheese into vege treats. It upped the protein content and made them super tasty and I wasn’t certain dairy was the issue at that point anyway. Then we met a wonderful GP who, rather than send us packing with hydrocortisone cream for the eczema and ventolin for the wheezing suggested we try a complete dairy free diet.  This meant no animal milks AT ALL and no beef, among other things, for a period of two weeks (we were avoiding the A1 protein). The list of things we needed to avoid was so extensive and it seemed really daunting at first but truly, it’s not that hard once You get the hang of it.

It probably took me a couple of weeks to get properly prepared. I started researching recipes and looking into my options. We changed the things, like milk, that were easy right away and gradually phased in new recipes. After about 2 or 3 weeks we were completely dairy free.  From that point we needed to commit to it for 2 weeks to see if there were results. And lucky for us, there were results. The eczema was completely gone. Every single bit of it. And so we’ve remained dairy free ever since. Apparently it is an intolerance that may reduce over time so every now and then I allow it. I can always tell if he has overindulged though as the eczema comes right back. After a breakout it takes 2 or 3 days of strict dairy free for it to go away again.

I will post some great healthy dairy free snack ideas soon but in the meantime here is a glimpse of some of the things that got us started:

• Milk: Our nutritionist recommended we use oat milk and/or protein enriched rice milk (only vitasoy make this – it’s less of a sugar high than regular rice milk). 

• Nuttlex butter is 100% dairy free and available at major supermarkets

• Dairy free butter and milk can be substituted into any recipe you like.

• Eggs are your friend (obviously provided you have established there is no egg allergy). We make scrambled eggs or I pack a hard boiled egg as part of lunch when go out. These little suckers pack a high protein punch.

• Crackers – most have milk solids in them (like Jatz which totally surprised me). Saladas and Premiums are dairy free.

• Check the packets on everything! Even things you think don’t have dairy in them – you will be surprised. Anything containing Sodium Caseinate contains dairy. 

• Pre packed foods: there are some dairy free options in the baby section (fruit bars without biscuit outer etc) and also in the health food aisle. Have a look around at what works for you. 

xo Rachael


Author Bio - Rachael is a sometimes blogging, always mummying, single mum of a 20 month old little boy. They live a happy seaside life in a small coastal northern NSW town in Australia. You can check out some of her other thoughts about the world at www.mummyflyingsolo.com  

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